Legislature XII of Italy

ElectionsMattarellumMattarellum27 March 1994Meeting placePalazzo Montecitorio, Rome (C)Palazzo Madama, Rome (S)Websitestoria.camera.it/legislature/leg-repubblica-XII
www.senato.it/leg12/homeConstitutionConstitution of Italy

The Legislature XII of Italy (Italian: XII Legislatura della Repubblica Italiana) lasted from 15 April 1994 until 8 May 1996.^[1][2] Its composition was the one resulting from the snap general election of 27 March 1994. The election was called by President Scalfaro, after he dissolved the houses of Parliament on 16 January 1994.^[3] This decision was connected to some major events that permanently changed the shape of Italian internal politics during the beginning of the '90s, such as Tangentopoli and the Mafia trials.

This legislature marks the beginning of the so-called "Second Republic" (Italian: Seconda Repubblica), characterised by the progressive decline and dismantlement of the traditional parties, such as the Christian Democracy, the Italian Socialist Party, the Italian Communist Party, and the Italian Social Movement. It also marks the official entrance of Silvio Berlusconi in Italian politics.

This was the first legislature to apply the new majoritarian electoral system (also known as Mattarellum), which replaced the proportional system in effect since 1946.

Government

Prime Minister			Party	Term of office		Government	Composition
				Took office	Left office
		Silvio Berlusconi (b. 1936)	Forza Italia	10 May 1994	17 January 1995	Berlusconi I	FI • LN • AN • CCD • UdC (PdL–PBG)
		Lamberto Dini (b. 1931)	Independent	17 January 1995	17 May 1996	Dini	Independents (Technocratic cabinet)

Composition

Chamber of Deputies

• President: Irene Pivetti (LN), elected on 16 April 1994
• Vice Presidents: Luciano Violante (PDS), Adriana Poli Bortone (AN, until 25 May 1994), Lorenzo Acquarone (PPI), Vittorio Dotti (FI, until 9 November 1994), Ignazio La Russa (AN, from 25 May 1994)

Parliamentary groups in the Chamber of Deputies

Initial composition[4]					Final composition[4]
Parliamentary group			Seats		Parliamentary group			Seats	Change
	Progressives – Federative		143			Progressives – Federative		164	21
	Northern League		118			Northern League		71	47
	Forza Italia		112			Forza Italia		110	2
	National Alliance – MSI		109			National Alliance		105	4
	Communist Refoundation – Progressives		39			Communist Refoundation – Progressives		24	15
	Italian People's Party		33			Italian People's Party		27	6
	Christian Democratic Centre		27			Christian Democratic Centre		42	15
						Federalists and Liberal Democrats		28	28
						The Democrats		21	21
	Mixed		49			Mixed		36	13
		Linguistic Minorities	4				Linguistic Minorities	4
		Democratic Alliance	17						17
		Italian Socialist Party	14						14
		Segni Pact	9						9
							Unitarian Communists	14	14
		Non inscrits	5[5]				Non inscrits	18	13
Total seats			630		Total seats			628	2

Senate of the Republic

• President: Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini (FI), elected on 16 April 1994
• Vice Presidents: Carlo Rognoni (PDS), Michele Pinto (PPI), Marcello Staglieno (LN), Romano Misservile (AN)

Parliamentary groups in the Senate of the Republic

Initial composition[6]					Final composition[6]
Parliamentary group			Seats		Parliamentary group			Seats	Change
	Progressives – Federative		76			Progressives – Federative		74	2
	Lega Nord		60			Lega Nord		40	20
	National Alliance – Italian Social Movement		48			National Alliance		47	1
	Forza Italia		36			Forza Italia		36
	Italian People's Party		34			Italian People's Party		22	12
	Communist Refoundation – Progressives		18			Communist Refoundation – Progressives		14	4
	Progressives – Greens – The Network		13			Progressives – Greens – The Network		7	6
	Christian Democratic Centre		12			Christian Democratic Centre		15	3
	Progressive – PSI		10			Labour – Socialist – Progressive		10
						Crossed Shield		13	13
						Democratic Left		10	10
						Federalist Italian League		10	10
	Mixed		19			Mixed		27	8
		South Tyrolean People's Party	3				South Tyrolean People's Party	3
		Non inscrits	16[7]				Non inscrits	24	8
Total seats			326		Total seats			325	1

Notes

• Of the 315 elected senators, 11 Senators for life were added at the beginning of the term distributed as follows:
  • 3 from the Partito Popolare Italiano: Giulio Andreotti, Carlo Bo, Amintore Fanfani
  • 1 from the group Progressisti – PSI: Francesco De Martino
  • 7 with no affiliation: Gianni Agnelli, Norberto Bobbio, Francesco Cossiga, Giovanni Leone, Giovanni Spadolini (died in August 1994), Paolo Emilio Taviani, Leo Valiani

References